Abbe Rifkin should get nod in Broward County Circuit Court Group 15

Circuit Judge Matthew Destry has drawn four opponents in this race, a lot of challengers for an incumbent judge.

"I have no idea why I've drawn so many challengers," Destry, 58, said during an endorsement interview with the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. "I don't see any rhyme or reason to it."

In fact, there's good reason he's facing so many challengers. Since being appointed judge in 2007, Destry has earned a reputation as an erratic jurist prone to issuing harsh sentences and disregarding the concerns of those who appear before him.

Voters should oust Destry and replace him with Abbe S. Rifkin, a veteran Miami-Dade County prosecutor. Rifkin, 59, of Pembroke Pines, has lived in Broward County since 1982. In the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office, she is deputy chief of the Felony Division and chief of the Sexually Violent Predator Unit.

She has worked in the Miami-Dade office for 35 years — since her third year at the University of Miami Law School. She also has taught law as an adjunct at Florida International University since 2008.

Abbe Sheila Rifkin/Courtesy

Abbe Rifkin

Abbe Rifkin

(Abbe Sheila Rifkin/Courtesy)

In her candidate questionnaire, Rifkin said she's wanted to be a judge "since the day I took the oath of the Florida Bar." But first, she wanted to make sure she had the requisite experience.

In 2011 she began her campaign to be a judge. The Judicial Nominating Commission has offered her name for 11 open seats since then, an extraordinary accomplishment. But Gov. Rick Scott has chosen someone else each time.

While some critics of the state's circuit courts say they are packed with too many former prosecutors, Rifkin said a prosecutor's job is not to convict, but to "pursue justice."

That will be her goal if she's elected, she said.

Destry's three other challengers for the six-year position all have solid credentials. (If no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote on Aug. 30, there will be a runoff in November.)

Barbara Duffy, 50, has lived in Broward County her entire life. She has her own law firm and practices primarily criminal and labor law. She decided to run against Destry because of his poor reputation.

"There's a perception of unfairness" about Destry, she said. "It has to stop."

After she graduated from Nova Law School, she worked more than three years for Broward State Attorney Mike Satz. In her questionnaire, she said she tried more than 100 cases during her time there.

Then she spent almost 20 years as an attorney for the Broward County Police Benevolent Association. After that, she became general counsel for AFSCME Local 2432, which represents Hollywood's municipal workers.

Haccord Curry, 57, also is seeking Destry's seat. He's an assistant general counsel for the state Department of Juvenile Justice. He primarily works on truancy, runaway and ungovernable youth cases.

Curry said that as an attorney of Bahamian descent, he is particularly qualified to grapple with the kinds of cases that come to criminal circuit court. "You have to see a case as a whole," he said. "You have to look at people and figure out how to solve problems."

Finally, Broward Assistant Public Defender Brian Greenwald is vying for the judgeship.

Greenwald has spent a lot of time in Destry's courtroom and says simply: "I can do it better."

Greenwald cited the Bar rules that prohibit judicial candidates from directly criticizing their opponents, but it was clear during the Sun Sentinel group interview that Greenwald is not happy with Destry's performance.

In their most recent clash, Greenwald was representing Herbert Smith, a Pompano Beach man with a long criminal record who was charged with violating his probation.

In a misguided effort to send a stern message to Smith last November, Destry sentenced him to 60 years in prison. Destry immediately came under fire and quickly scheduled a rehearing, where he suspended the sentence.

During his endorsement interview, Destry pointed out Smith was a violent criminal by age 21 and that his demeanor showed he was not intimidated by the 12-year sentence prosecutors were recommending.

"I could see that he was thinking 'go ahead and take your best shot,'" Destry said.

The 60-year sentence got his attention, Destry said.

Destry decided to suspend the sentence because many people in Pompano Beach, after learning about the harsh sentence, offered to get Smith a job and mentor him.